Newsarama.com is repoting that the Free Comic Book Day committee has announced the Gold Sponsor comics selections for the event. IDW is presenting Transformers #80.5 "Regeneration One". This issue kick starts the return to the original Transformers comic book Universe. Free comic book day is May 5, 2012. Below is the solictation from IDW.

The wait is over--after a 20-year hiatus, IDW proudly returns to the original TRANSFORMERS comic book universe, picking up right where 1991's TRANSFORMERS #80 left off! Optimus Prime, Grimlock, Kup, Hot Rod and all your favorite Generation One TRANSFORMERS characters charge into the future as fan-favorite writer Simon Furman and legendary Transformers artist Andrew Wildman present TRANSFORMERS #80.5! Reflecting back on the dizzying highs and the terrifying lows of the original run of Transformers comics, Optimus Prime watches over a Cybertron that hasn't faced Megatron for decades. But that peace shudders to an end, as we dive headlong into July's TRANSFORMERS #81!Because the Fans demanded it! Thousands of TRANSFORMERS fans signed petitions urging us to make this book--and IDW listened!

william-james88 wrote:I am just glad the conversation has changed from just being about the butt flap

Blast Cannon wrote:This thread is brilliant. Duragrip you are a gloriously weird sexual deviant and I love it.

Delta Magnus wrote:A giant Alpha Bravo that can turn into a torso, so that with the addition of 4 Alpha Bravos one can build "Ruinatus Eternus".

Motto:"It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war."

Weapon: Reciprocating Laser Cannon

God Magnus wrote:

Joetx wrote:I've never participated in a Free Comic Day before. Do you have to purchase something or is there a stack a free comics that you can simply take from?

Each store can handle it however they want. Check with your local comic shop for details.

The way FCBD works is the shop owner pays for the books out of pocket and offers them to any person, young or old at no charge. FCBD was created to encourage non-comic book readers to approach the media.

That being said, there are quite a few titles that are involved with FCBD. By that I mean there are many titles that shop owners don't always bring in, it may surprise you to know that Transformers comics are not highly sought after in my region (compared to juggernauts from Marvel and DC), it's sometimes difficult to get retailer incentive covers because my Local Comic Shop has a hard time selling 10 books. Most comic shops have a subscription service with which customers can get titles pulled for them ahead of time, had I not been signed up for all transformers comics I would have missed the last FCBD transformers comic as they only brought in 3 issues, 1 for myself and 2 other customers. As FCBD approaches, it may be advantageous to call your local comic shop and ask them to bring one in and set it aside for you.

Seibertron.com is a Transformers fansite. It is not a fansite about 3rd party products. I do NOT care for 3rd party products. I am TIRED of seeing the stuff here on this site. That's all it comes down to.

This probably sounds like a dumb question, but if I miss this on FCBD, will I ever be able to buy it? I haven't found any shops around here, and I typically pick up my TF comics from the IDW comic app on my iPad.

I am very excited for this. I just hope it won't be an IDW turd, but rather in the style of the comics it follows storywise. If they do it right and pick up the story right where 80 left off, it should be good. But if it's like most of the IDW titles these days, I will be disappointed. I loved the G1 Marvel comics, so I will give this a shot, but I am a bit apprehensive. The comic audience is not the same as it was 20 years ago. I just hope they (writer, editor) have those of us from back then in mind as well.

............."We're gonna see just how much Rod they can handle!"............

Rodimus Prime wrote:I am very excited for this. I just hope it won't be an IDW turd, but rather in the style of the comics it follows storywise. If they do it right and pick up the story right where 80 left off, it should be good. But if it's like most of the IDW titles these days, I will be disappointed. I loved the G1 Marvel comics, so I will give this a shot, but I am a bit apprehensive. The comic audience is not the same as it was 20 years ago. I just hope they (writer, editor) have those of us from back then in mind as well.

Rodimus Prime wrote:I am very excited for this. I just hope it won't be an IDW turd, but rather in the style of the comics it follows storywise. If they do it right and pick up the story right where 80 left off, it should be good. But if it's like most of the IDW titles these days, I will be disappointed. I loved the G1 Marvel comics, so I will give this a shot, but I am a bit apprehensive. The comic audience is not the same as it was 20 years ago. I just hope they (writer, editor) have those of us from back then in mind as well.

Yeah ,i heard the news already ,and not really happy about the 21 years later .Also it won't lead into G2 ,but rather use story elements from G2 .Will we ever know how Megatron got control of the ark ,or if Grimlock got over the effects of the Nucleon ,now it's all up in the air ,but at least the first issue is free

Rodimus Prime wrote:I am very excited for this. I just hope it won't be an IDW turd, but rather in the style of the comics it follows storywise. If they do it right and pick up the story right where 80 left off, it should be good. But if it's like most of the IDW titles these days, I will be disappointed. I loved the G1 Marvel comics, so I will give this a shot, but I am a bit apprehensive. The comic audience is not the same as it was 20 years ago. I just hope they (writer, editor) have those of us from back then in mind as well.

Yeah ,i heard the news already ,and not really happy about the 21 years later .Also it won't lead into G2 ,but rather use story elements from G2 .Will we ever know how Megatron got control of the ark ,or if Grimlock got over the effects of the Nucleon ,now it's all up in the air ,but at least the first issue is free

I just hope they will retcon Fort Max's death from G2. He was one of the most epic characters in the Marvel run, and in the end, got 1 panel to die?

Also, I still feel the story of Ratchets and Megatrons mind-link wasn't properly solved.

If you are as excited as we are about the continuation of the original Transformers comic universe and can't wait until Free Comic Book Day May 5 for Regeneration One, Simon Furman and Andrew Wildman give us more info about these books via their wordpress blogs.

Simon Furman explains what we can expect from the plot of the book.

Simon Furman wrote:Announced yesterday at Bleeding Cool News, Newsarama and a host of other sites, Free Comic Day 2012 (May 5th) will feature the official launch of Transformers: Regeneration One, the epic continuation/conclusion of the original Transformers comic series, originally published by Marvel (which ended with issue #80 back in 1991). Transformers: Regeneration One #80.5, featuring all-new story (by me) and art by Andrew Wildman and Stephen Baskerville, will be available FREE on May 5th at all good comic book stores, with #81 following in July. So what can you expect from #80.5? Clearly, I don’t want to give away salient plot points at this stage, but I can say… the story picks up 21 years after #80. Cybertron has been at peace (mostly) for all that time, but - of course - there are loose ends. And as those loose ends involve some of the biggest and baddest villains in the (original) Transformers Universe, it’s pretty safe to say that the ‘peace’ will be shattered in a fairly monumental way. The issue will be pretty balanced between stuff to bring readers up to speed and stuff that propels the new storyline onwards, so whether or not you read the original run, you can still easily jump onboard here. What else? Well, when I was doing the prep for the continuation, I re-read all eighty issues, plus mini-series, and made pretty extensive notes about anything and everything that needed attention or some kind of reference or wrap up, so you can expect a really comprehensive and thorough conclusion to the series (though that’s a ways off yet, in issue #100!), as well as copious nods to what has come before (and not necessarily just in the US comic). What else? Only that Andrew and Stephen are seriously knocking the ball out of the park on the art side. They’re managed that rare trick of recapturing the spirit of the original run but also bringing in another 20 years’ worth of experience to the pages, making each panel worth savouring again and again. Just wait until you see the opening splash and final page of #81. Both are stunning jaw-droppers! Oh yeah, one last thing – categorically, #81-100 are not a lead in to G2. But neither are we exactly ignoring G2 either. Weird as that sounds, I think/hope it’ll kind of work. I’m drawing on everything I can here, and because we know we’re building to a conclusion, you can expect some total bombshells as the issues unfold. Hope that’s whetted your appetite. Keep checking in for more Regeneration tidbits here and on the official IDW website.

Andrew Wildman goes into details about the cover and the interior colourist on the book.

Andrew Wildman wrote:So now that you have all seen the amazing front cover for the new Transformers ReGeneration comic many have asked who did the awesome colouring. We did have a number of colourists approach us who wanted to do the job. For me the first and foremost choice was always going to be Jason Cardy . I have known Jason for a number of years and he has been an amazing contributor to the Draw the World Together project. His colours are some of the best around and he has already built up a portfolio of Transformers colour work for the UK Transformers magazine. Due to other commitments Jason is not able to colour the interiors so the search went on for an interior colourist. We considered many but the one that stood out as a great colourist for the interiors was John-Paul Bove. JP (as we call him) was kind enough to do us a sample page and with a few notes and nips and tucks and guidance he captured the look we were after. A successful blending of the old and the new. Something that harked back to the old Marvel Transformers comic but that also incorporated some of the modern techniques of colouring. I can’t show you the results yet as it would be a bit of a spoiler but rest assured it is great and I will show you something as soon as IDW let me. I have also set up a Transformers ReGeneration Facebook page. If you do the Facebook thing why not pop along and take a look.

william-james88 wrote:I am just glad the conversation has changed from just being about the butt flap

Blast Cannon wrote:This thread is brilliant. Duragrip you are a gloriously weird sexual deviant and I love it.

Delta Magnus wrote:A giant Alpha Bravo that can turn into a torso, so that with the addition of 4 Alpha Bravos one can build "Ruinatus Eternus".

Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'

Chris Ryall has revealed via his twitter feed a never before seen interior page from Transformers ReGeneration One #80.5. This gives you a good idea of the art and coloring style for the continuing series. This issue will be available May 5 for Free Comic Book Day. The image has been mirrored below.

william-james88 wrote:I am just glad the conversation has changed from just being about the butt flap

Blast Cannon wrote:This thread is brilliant. Duragrip you are a gloriously weird sexual deviant and I love it.

Delta Magnus wrote:A giant Alpha Bravo that can turn into a torso, so that with the addition of 4 Alpha Bravos one can build "Ruinatus Eternus".

Galvatron X wrote:I'm guessing a lot of complaining about that art is gonna start right......now!

I dunno, it looks kinda amateur-ish. Something about the poses look off.

Kup doesn't look very old, does he?

This is Andrew Wildman's style, and how the last several issues of the original comic were drawn. I expect that if any complaints about the artwork were to happen, it'd be from people who don't know either of those things.

Darth Bombshell wrote:This is Andrew Wildman's style, and how the last several issues of the original comic were drawn. I expect that if any complaints about the artwork were to happen, it'd be from people who don't know either of those things.

Uhhhh, okay...

No, I didn't know that about Wildman and his style. But, now that I do:

I dunno, it looks kinda "amateur-ish". Something about the poses and "anatomy" looks off.